Doomed to Repeat It
by Irhaboggles
Summary: It felt like looking into a mirror, the only difference being that while Aurora mourned a man named Phillip, Maleficent had mourned a man named Stefan. But even so, the core of the story remained and it seemed as if they were eternally doomed to repeat it.


The bright, beautiful day quickly became cold and dark for Maleficent when she caught sight of her beloved ward crying alone in one of the darker, quieter corners of the Moors. Instantly on alert, Maleficent quietly over to the weeping girl to see what was wrong.

"Beastie?" she asked, concern evident in her voice and face both.

"Godmother!" Aurora looked up in surprise. There was a reason she had come to such lonely, forgotten, hidden part of the Moors, after all. But the second she looked up, she gave away any chance she had at denying what was wrong because the second she looked up, she revealed a red, blotchy face streaked with tears. Again, Maleficent felt alarm course through her body, this time coupled with a protective rage at whoever made Aurora cry so terribly. It took all her self-control to not accidentally start snarling in defensiveness and anger.

"What's the matter, Beastie?" Maleficent instead asked, keeping her voice as level as possible, face softening as she met Aurora's wet eyes.

For a second, neither of them said a thing, Aurora looking reluctant to confess, but completely unable to lie, but then Maleficent extended a wing towards her. It was a small, slight gesture, but Aurora saw it and began sobbing anew, finally leaping up and launching herself right into Maleficent's outstretched wing, not even trying to hide her tears anymore.

"Oh, godmother! I am such a fool!" she wept and again, Maleficent felt that protective fury fill her heart. She had to bite her tongue to keep from protesting Aurora's hateful remark about herself and she had to swallow down a demand to know who had led Aurora to feel this way. Even though it was instinctual for her to want to comfort the girl in those ways, she already knew that it would be of no use.

Even if it was true that Aurora was NOT a fool, Aurora clearly did not believe that at the moment, so trying to argue with her about it would not help at all. And as for Maleficent's second option to promise to eliminate whatever it was that had made Aurora feel so bad? Well, Maleficent already knew in her heart that Aurora would only shake her head and sadly insist that it was nothing. The girl was never one for vengeance and it was just one of many things Maleficent adored about her. The best option, in the end, was to just let Aurora talk and let her say what she wanted to say and trust that it would all come out in time. This choice on Maleficent's part to let Aurora do all the talking proved to be the correct one because, by the end of Aurora's sobbing explanation, Maleficent had the full story even though Aurora had not been able to tell much without crying even harder than she already was. It was hardly a happy tale, as evidenced by the tears streaming down Aurora's face.

Phillip had, apparently, broken up with her. He did still love her, but pressures from the human world finally overwhelmed him and he broke up with her. He insisted that although he still loved Aurora deeply, it just didn't look on him to have a peasant girl from the Moors acting as his queen. No one would take a king seriously if that king had chosen a poor and uneducated girl to be his queen. She had no idea how to run a human kingdom and she had no idea how to behave in a human court. That was what people took issue with. And that didn't even touch upon the natural bias the human kingdom had towards the Moors. Even if Aurora was human, she was almost like a fairy to them and they did not trust her any more than they trusted anyone else from the Moors. So at last, Phillip succumbed to the demands and broke up with Aurora, sincerely apologetic but completely resolute in his decision. After that, he and Aurora had parted ways, Phillip returning to his human kingdom while Aurora fled deep into the deepest, darkest depths of the Moors to cry alone. But Maleficent, who had been soaring over her kingdom just to give it a brief look-over, had found her. Now here they were.

Maleficent felt her heart break alongside Aurora's as she heard the tale. Dismay, grief, agony and a sad sort of knowingness filled her heart as memories filled her head. Looking at Aurora's devastated face felt like looking into a mirror for Maleficent, the only difference being that while Aurora mourned a man named Phillip, Maleficent had mourned a man named Stefan. But even so, the core of the story remained: a human boy fell for a fairy girl before ultimately leaving her because the pressures of the human world finally triumphed over him and he believed that power was more important than love. In both times, the men had offered pathetic, "pragmatic" excuses for abandoning the women they "loved" in the name of power, and in both times, those women were left shattered. The only bit of solace Maleficent could take from the pain Aurora was enduring was that at least the girl did not seem to be physically harmed the way Maleficent had when Stefan decided to leave her. But just because Aurora bore no bodily scars did not mean the ones on her heart were any less deep.

"Oh, Beastie, I am so sorry," Maleficent wrapped wing and arm around her goddaughter's trembling frame and rested her chin on the girl's golden locks. It really did feel so much like looking into a mirror, peering into the past, and it was painful for both of them…

Many hours later, Aurora had finally been coaxed into a fitful sleep. The moment she was completely out, Maleficent finally allowed that earlier burning rage to come out of hiding. She had hidden it well for Aurora's sake, but with Aurora asleep, there was nothing left to stop Maleficent's rage. She stormed back and forth in her court, already planning all the vile, gruesome, terrible ways she could murder Phillip and everything and everyone he had ever loved. She could use magic to curse, maim, murder or torment him. She could use a wall of thorns to strangle and pull him apart. She could use her wings to beat him into submission and steal the air from his lungs. She could spear him with her horns. She could have trees and vines come to life to hang him. She could open a fissure in the Earth to swallow him whole and crush him alive. She could toss him about in the air so violently that his neck would snap. The possibilities were endless!

Then her thoughts turned to Diaval. No doubt he'd be just as outraged as she was, and while she still fully intended to take her sweet time torturing Phillip, she could have Diaval help. She could have him eat Phillip alive, or she could use Diaval's dragon form to slow-roast Phillip. Really, there was no limit to what Maleficent could, or would, do Phillip, except what her own imagination allowed for!

But then, right as Maleficent was thinking about adding Diaval into the mix, who should show up except the raven-man himself?

"I heard about what happened with Phillip," he said the second Maleficent turned him back into a man.

"What? How?" Maleficent's voice was colder and harder than ice, all tenderness gone now that Aurora was asleep.

"Aurora told me," Diaval replied. "I was just flying back and I caught her awake, crying again. She told me everything."

"Is she still awake?" Maleficent, some measure of anger turning back into concern.

"No," Diaval promised. "I helped her get back to sleep."

"Good," Maleficent nodded, lowering her shoulders a bit.

"But I do want to talk to you before you try any crazy, bloody revenge plots," Diaval continued, then Maleficent's shoulders tensed up again.

Their talk escalated into a fight, but both raven and fairy managed to keep their voices down enough so that it would not disturb Aurora.

"Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it!" Maleficent insisted, snarling softly as her eyes glowed with magic she was barely keeping in check. "I should've known from the start that Phillip was bad news! I should've gotten rid of him the first time he ever tried to come back for my little Beastie! But no, I forgot. I forgot the true wicked ways of man and I allowed myself to let my guard down! Now look what has happened!"

"No, Mistress, no!" Diaval tried to soothe her. "While you are right that Phillip did something terrible, you cannot start a war over it!"

"Watch me," Maleficent coldly. "He betrayed my trust and showed his true colors as just another human!"

"But the Moors will suffer too, if you do this," Diaval replied, still trying to talk sense into his mistress.

"The humans will suffer more!" Maleficent with a haughty and merciless sniff. "We were fools to ever forget how poorly they treated our kind in the past! We were fools to ever forget how little they care for anyone but themselves! We were fools to let our guards down and trust! Why would Phillip prove any different than Stefan or any other human? It is on us for allowing Aurora to be hurt because we were not vigilant enough, but that will not stop us from righting those wrongs and ending mankind once and for ALL!"

They continued to go back and forth until the sun started to rise. It was Aurora's approach that finally ceased their endless quarrel.

"Godmother? Diaval?" she asked, still sounding sad and tired. The fairy and raven ceased their fighting at once and they both approached her with tender faces, all their rage and frustration vanishing faster than a snap as Aurora drew near. Suddenly, only love and concern remained as they both greeted her carefully, with as much sweetness and gentleness they could muster. But even though they were both able to put on concerned faces for Aurora, Diaval could still sense a storm of anger brewing in Maleficent's heart and if it was anything like last time with Stefan, she would be starting a bloody and brutal war that would not be over quickly.

_Oh Mistress! _Diaval thought sadly as he watched Maleficent lead Aurora off to help her find something to eat. _I understand you are angry. As am I. I love Aurora too. And I don't like seeing her suffer either. But war cannot be the answer! You and I have both seen the devastation caused by war, and we both know that violent revenge where even the innocent are harmed never helps or heals anyone! You can't do this! Don't make the same mistake you did 20 years before! Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it, so please don't forget this part of your history and please don't make the same mistakes you did before!_

But Diaval had not the words to say this to his mistress eloquently, so all he could do was follow after the two women with pain and grief in his eyes and heart. He could feel it in his bones that something great and terrible was about to happen because of all this and he felt helpless to stop it. They had forgotten their history in their moment of anger and it seemed like they were about to be doomed to repeat it and all any of them could do now was watch as it unfolded, slaves to their own passions and emotions and helpless to turn things around. It was just an endless cycle, sequel after sequel after sequel. Even if the setting and characters changed, the plot remained and they would all be doomed to repeat it.

**AN: Qiralyn Cassette, here's the dark AU where Phillip breaks up with Aurora rather than proposing to her. **


End file.
